Page 114 of Resurrection Walk

“That’s all right, Detective Bosch,” Coelho said. “This shouldn’t take long. You may sit.”

Bosch sat down, noting that she had called him Detective Bosch.

“Mr. Morris, I see you have expanded your team today,” Coelho continued.

Morris stood to address the court.

“Yes, Your Honor,” he said. “Assistant attorney general Margaret McPherson will handle the cross-examination of Mr. Bosch. She has expertise in the matters he testified to last week.”

“Well, that answers the question of whether there will be a cross-examination,” the judge said. “Mr. Haller, do you have anything you would like to bring to the attention of the court?”

Haller stood.

“Good morning, Your Honor,” Haller said. “As a matter of fact, I do. The petitioner objects to the addition of Ms. McPherson to the State’s team as a conflict of interest.”

Morris stood back up.

“Just hold it right there, Mr. Morris,” Coelho said. “What conflict is that, Mr. Haller?”

“Ms. McPherson and I were married at one time,” Haller said.

Bosch turned to check the judge’s reaction. It was clear she had not known of the marital history of the two lawyers before her.

“Interesting,” Coelho said. “I was not aware of that. When were you two married?”

“It was quite a while ago, Your Honor,” Haller said. “But there is an adult daughter and ongoing connections as well as ongoing upset over the dissolution of the marriage and its consequences.”

“How so, Mr. Haller?” the judge said.

“Your Honor, I believe Ms. McPherson harbors resentment over her career as a prosecutor for Los Angeles County being… thwarted by her relationship with me. I would not want that to interfere with my client’s ability to get a fair and impartial hearing on the facts of this petition.”

The judge turned her attention to Morris.

“Mr. Morris, are you attempting to inject outside conflict into this proceeding?”

“Not at all, Your Honor,” Morris said. “As I already stated on the record, Ms. McPherson is the expert on cellular data in the California Attorney General’s Office. Last year, in fact, she was hired away from the Ventura County prosecutor’s office because of her expertise in this field. This is an area of the law that is fairly new and that comes up frequently as alleged ‘new evidence’ in appellate and habeas briefs. This material was sprung on us last week, and with the continuance the court granted, I took it to our expert, Ms. McPherson, who has been analyzing the material in preparing for this witness’s cross-examination. There is no conflict, Your Honor. My understanding is that the marriage has been over for more years than it existed. There are no custody disputes because their one child is an adult and lives independently of her parents. There are no disputes at all, Judge. In fact, two years ago Ms. McPherson took a leave from the Ventura prosecutor’s office to provide legal help to Mr. Haller when he was charged with a crime.”

“Is all that true, Mr. Haller?” Coelho asked.

“It is true there are no custody or other legal disputes, Judge,” Haller said. “But on more than one occasion, I was blamed for setbacks, demotions, and changes in Ms. McPherson’s career, and, as I said earlier, I don’t want any possible grudge to hinder Lucinda Sanz’s right to a fair and impartial hearing on the petition.”

The judge frowned and even Bosch knew why. It was the judge who needed to be fair and impartial. Haller’s argument was misdirected. But before the judge could speak, Maggie McFierce did.

“Your Honor, may I be heard?” she said. “Everyone is talking about me. I think I should be allowed to respond.”

“Go ahead, Ms. McPherson,” Coelho said. “But be brief. This is not family court and I don’t want to turn it into an examination of a broken marriage and what grievances may exist therein.”

“I’m happy to be brief,” McPherson said. “The fact is, I hold no grudge against my ex-husband. It was indeed a complicated union between a prosecutor and a defense attorney, but it ended a long time ago. I have moved on, he has moved on, and our daughter is a grown woman making her way in the world. Mr. Morris did not even know of my marital history when he came to me last week and asked me to take a look at the material turned over in discovery. It wasn’t until I started working on it that I noticed that it was my ex-husband’s case and that the witness was Mr. Bosch, whom I have met on occasion. I immediately informed Mr. Morris but told him, as I am telling the court, that Mr. Haller and I have no conflict of interest. Our relationship as the parents of a young woman is not conflicted in any way and I hold no grudge against him, his client, or his witness.”

“I am not sure that was brief, but the court appreciates counsel’s honesty,” Coelho said. “Anything else, Mr. Haller?”

“Submitted,” Haller said.

Haller said it in a tone that dripped with defeat. He knew how this was going to go.

“Very well,” the judge said. “It is this court’s responsibility to remain fair and impartial in hearing evidence and determining the truth of things. I intend to do that. The objection is overruled. Now, Mr. Haller, is there anything else you would like to bring up with the court before we proceed with the witness?”

“Not at this time, Judge,” Haller said.

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